Safe and Harmed
by Rose WR
Summary: Ruby, a girl dealing with her life at home, the death of her mother and sister, abusive father, and school bullies is trying to find a way to cope. She meets a girl named Weiss, will she change her life for better or for worse?
1. chapter 1

Note: I plan on making this story dark. If you don't like dark themes or cursing, then welcome to my fics, there's a lot of it. Continue at your own risk, you chose to read this.

Ruby was woken up from her usual nightmares and decided to get some water. She goes downstairs and sees her father Taiyang in the kitchen downing some whiskey. He has his back turned to her so she thought she could just slip past him unnoticed. She reached for a glass and tries to be careful to avoid the noisy clang of the glasses. She accidentally drops a glass, breaking it and catching Taiyang's attention.

"Raven! Oh... you. What are you doing out of bed?!" he yelled.

"I-I just came down for some water..." Ruby answered, feeling scared.

"Then get your water and get the fuck back upstairs!" he snapped at her. "And tear down those stupid pictures of your mom, you still act like she's alive." he grumbled.

"She is still alive in our hearts... Uncle Qrow thought so too!" she protests.

"Your 'uncle' is a crazy drunk bastard. Don't listen to anything that dick has to say." he said taking another drink.

"Okay, fine..." Ruby said with tears in her eyes and runs back to her room.

Taiyang sighs and looks over to the broken glass on the floor. "Oh look, the accident made an accident. Fucking great."

Ruby runs to her room and locks it. She sinks to her knees and starts crying even harder, wishing that Yang was with her to give her comfort. Nothing was the same since her death, Taiyang being depressed, Qrow's disappearance, and now Ruby sadder than ever.

She looks over to her broken mirror. "Mirror, mirror... who's the most fucking miserable of them all?" she wants to go over to grab a shard but stops, knowing that isn't what Yang would want.

 _But Yang is dead, how would she know what's best for me? Would she want me to join her? No... I'd even fuck that up._

Ruby, being too caught up with her thoughts, fell asleep slumped against the door. Too busy crying to care about making it to her bed.

She woke up to pounding at her door. It was Taiyang. She got up quickly and opened it.

"About time," he said with annoyance. "You weren't cutting, were you? I swear if there's blood... ugh, nevermind. Eat whatever you want for breakfast because I'm not making you anything." he grimaced and walked away.

Ruby nodded and got dressed. She wore a red and black flannel, a white tee she had laying on the floor, black skinny jeans, and black boots. She walked down to the kitchen to make at least something for breakfast before school. She settled on a peanut butter sandwich and went on her way. She made her way to the bus stop and waited on the bench for it show up. It came a few minutes later, suprisingly, and she got on to sit all the way in the back to avoid everyone. She wasn't very social, obviously, and just wanted to be left alone but the others couldn't take a hint.

"Did you even sleep?"

"You look sick."

"Why are you even here?"

She didn't care enough to answer their useless questions, they didn't matter. She just wanted to get through the day and hang out in the library after school to get some peace and quiet.

After a long and painful ride to school, Ruby gets off the bus and steps onto the courtyard of the school.

 _Great, another day of teasing and learning absolutely nothing important. I really hope I don't bump into that one girl again... what was her nam-_

"What the hell?!" a white-haired girl shouted from the ground.

Ruby went to help her up. "Here, ah... let me help."

She scoffs. "You? Help me? You're kidding, you look like you woke up in a dumpster." she gets up to dust herself off. "Yeah, no thanks."

"Hey I only wanted to..." she was cut off.

"It seems you only wanted to push me to the ground," she said, cutting Ruby off. "Do you even know my name?"

Ruby thought for a moment. "Yeah, it's Weiss."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I'm so glad you took your time to figure that out."

Ruby was beginning to get annoyed with her rudeness. She was just trying to help her and she is just shutting her down every chance she can get.

"Well I'm sorry you have to have the attention on you at all times, miss perfect." Ruby shot back.

"Excuse me?" Weiss frowned. "Since when did you talk back to people? You never even say anything, just zone everyone out like the loner you are!"

"Whatever..." Ruby walked past Weiss hastily, ignoring her insults from behind.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about. You saw it yourselves. Ruby Rose is fucking pathetic." Weiss rants. **"A shame your slutty sister can't protect you anymore."**

 _Did she really just go there? Are you fucking kidding me? No, she's not going to disrespect Yang like that!_

Ruby stopped dead in her tracks and turned back to Weiss. "What the fuck did you just say about my sister, bitch?"

Weiss was taken aback by Ruby's response. "Your sister. The one who probably slept with the professors just to get a better grade. Funny, her name is even close to bang."

Ruby's fists tighten and Weiss grins as she enjoys pushing her around.

"Going to cry some more?" Weiss grin grows even more. "We all know you do it at home and hope your mommy comes back when she's clearly dead. Give that up."

 _I've had enough. I can't believe her... attacking Yang, now my mother? That is crossing the line. I can't let her do this anymore._

Ruby charged at Weiss with full on rage, until...

"Miss Rose!" someone yelled at her.

She froze and turned around to see that it was Professor Goodwitch. This was not going to end well for either of them.

She repositioned her glasses and returned her attention back to them. "Now. Miss Rose and Miss Schnee, if you'll come with me then we can sort this out and continue with our lives. Without resorting to violence." she kept her gaze fixed on Ruby as she spoke.

They both went along willingly, knowing better than to disobey her orders.


	2. chapter 2

Note: Thank you for reading my fic! I'm really excited to continue with the story and I hope you'll be along for the ride. In this chapter you'll be seeing more Weiss sass and a new character introduced. The next one is more around Ruby's life at home... and it's pretty sad. So, here we go!

Ruby and Weiss followed Glynda inside the school. Ruby can't believe she would stoop that low to get under her skin. They reached the elevator and got in, Glynda pressed the button to the top floor, which is Ozpin's office. On the way there she finally spoke.

"You both will explain to Ozpin how this little conflict began between you two." she said in a stern voice.

They both were silent. What was there to be said? They reached Ozpin's office and Glynda gestured for them to take a seat. They sat down as requested. Ozpin spun his chair around to greet them.

He took a sip of his tea before speaking. "Ladies, what is going on? I was informed you both almost got into a fight. Is this true? If it is, then why?"

Ruby looked like she was going to speak before Weiss butted in.

"Headmaster Ozpin, I apologize," she began. "Ruby was feeling a little on edge today and I guess I pushed her a little too far. It's my fault." she admitted.

 _What? Why would she do that?_ _That's weird..._

Ruby was shocked at her confession. Ozpin seemed pleased with her answer. Glynda was not as pleased.

"You don't want to hear both sides? No punishment?" Glynda spoke up.

Ozpin shook his head. "There's no need. No harm was done to the students or the school, so as long as I'm concerned, they are free to go."

Glynda sighed and realized he was right. "You heard him, get a move on." she said pointing to the elevator.

They both got up from their seats and walked towards the elevator. Once on, there was awkward silence. Ruby decided to speak.

"Why did you admit it?" she asked. "Why not just blame it on me instead?"

Weiss stayed silent for a moment. "I just wanted to get out of there, okay?" she had her eyes closed and was facing the floor.

Ruby remained silent until they left the elevator.

"You didn't mean that, did you?" Ruby asked with sadness in her voice. Weiss was a bit shocked by her question.

"Do you think we're friends or something now because I took the blame?" she sighed. "I told you, I just wanted to leave." she then turned and left without another word.

Ruby watched her leave and shrugged.

 _Figures, everyone likes to leave me to suffer. Uncle Qrow, Yang, and... mom._

She touched her cheeks and realized she was crying, at school. She raced to the girl's bathroom and went there to cry in a stall. Minutes later she pulled out a pocket knife from her pocket and held it to her wrist. The tears were getting stronger, it was overwhelming. Someone came into the bathroom and Ruby went silent immediately and put her feet up to hide.

"Hello? Is anyone in here? I heard crying."

It was the voice of a girl, she had an accent.

"Anyone? Please, I just wanna know you're okay." the girl spoke again.

Ruby thought for a moment whether or not to speak. She made a decision.

"I-I'm here..." Ruby said choked out.

"Can you come out? I don't like talking to stall doors." she joked.

That made Ruby smile. "Yeah, sure..."

Ruby put away her knife and opened the stall door. She saw the girl and the she was a rabbit faunus. She seemed really nice too. Ruby stood there awkwardly until she spoke.

"What's wrong? I heard you crying when I came in." she said with concern.

Ruby didn't know what to say. "I don't know... I just wanted to be away from everyone."

The girl looked even more concerned. "Why though?" she asked. "Did someone hurt you?"

"No, no, no... I just don't like being around a lot of people." Ruby lied.

The girl smiled. "Fair enough. What's your name?"

"Ruby." she answered.

"I like that name. I'm Velvet!" she said gleefully.

Ruby liked her and name. She's so nice and full of positive energy, like Yang.

The bell rang and Velvet's ears twitched.

"Well, Ruby, it was nice meeting you but I gotta go before I'm late for class. Maybe we can hang out later?" she asked, gripping the handle to the door.

"Totally." Ruby said with an actual smile.

"Great! See ya later." she cheered as she left.

Ruby then left the bathroom after her to attend her classes, even though she thought they were boring. Even though she was tired, she finally made it to the last class of the school day. Professor Oobleck's history class.

"Now class, please choose a partner for your project," he paced. "I would not suggest working alone since this will be quite the difficult task to do by one's self."

 _Crap._ Ruby thought. _Partner, partner..._

Everyone was paired up in seconds, except Ruby. Oobleck looked up at Ruby.

"Miss Rose, you still need a partner. Let me see if I can find-"

"I'm here, sir." a familiar voice announced.

 _Pl_ _ease. Anybody but her._ It was none other than Weiss Schnee. Oobleck turned to her and smiled.

"You're just in time for the project. Miss Rose over there still needs a partner and everyone is already paired up. So, if you would kindly..."

"Are you kidding? Her?" Weiss complained.

"I am completely serious." he stared.

Weiss sighed. "Fine."

She walked over to Ruby with her arms crossed.

"So we're partners." Ruby said.

"For now," Weiss scowled. "But by no means does this make us friends or anything related to it."

"You read my mind..." Ruby opened her book and started to read, hoping the class would be over soon.


	3. chapter 3

Note: Wow! I wasn't expecting this story to get this many reviews! Thank you to those who took the time to read my fanfic and who will continue reading it as I update. It means a lot and gives me more motivation to write. Now, onto what you're here for.

As the class ended Weiss walked out rather quickly. Ruby went after her. She wanted to see if she wanted to get supplies for the project they were working on together.

"Weiss wait!" Ruby shouted.

Weiss stopped and turned to her with a look of annoyance. Ruby didn't like this look of hers...

"What? We're partners in class and now you think we have to be when we are out?" Weiss whined.

Ruby didn't want to drag this out and have it be an argument like their past encounter. So she went with straightforward.

"Wanna go shopping for supplies with me or not?" Ruby simply asked.

Weiss sighed. "I guess I will have to do my part in this project, so sure, I'll go. But don't expect me to go along with whatever you say."

Ruby nodded and they were off to to town. They would need paper, and not notebook paper, construction paper. They went to a shop named "Ally's Art Supplies" to get what they needed. They walked in and Ruby seemed pretty happy with the place while Weiss just wanted to go the entire time.

Ruby picked up a glass to admire it. It looked so shiny and pristine in the lights. She drops it. Her face went pale as she realized what she did. Weiss facepalmed.

"You dolt! Look what you did..." Weiss said disapprovingly.

"Dolt? Who says that?" Ruby quickly kicked the broken pieces under the shelf. "And they can't find out if they don't know we did it." Ruby joked.

Weiss raised a brow. "Are you insane? We should go tell them the truth instead if hiding it like children."

"Well we are still children, ya know," Ruby said looking around to see if it was clear. "But that doesn't matter, we got what we need. Let's go."

Weiss was hesitant but obeyed anyway. They made their way to the checkout with the paper and markers. The lady who checked them out asked for money and that's when it hit Ruby. She was broke. Weiss stepped in.

"Dolt. Being rich has its perks." she gave the cashier her card. It was accepted. Ruby was surprised Weiss would pay for her, but she didn't worry about it.

They went outside and they had to make a decision. Where were they gonna go? To Ruby's or Weiss's?

"My place?" Ruby suggested. "Dad is working late so we won't get bothered."

Weiss actually liked that idea. She didn't really want Ruby to see her own family life at all.

"Wow, you making sense? Has the world gone mad?" she teased.

Ruby rolled her eyes. "C'mon, I'll show the way."

Ruby and Weiss walked all the way down to Ruby's street and to her home. Ruby unlocked the door and they were in.

"Make yourself at home. Zwei doesn't like strangers at first but he'll warm up to you eventually." Ruby said.

Weiss wasn't too thrilled about the condition of Ruby's home, with dishes piling, dirty carpets, the smell of rotting garbage. These things aren't the ideal look for an average home. But it is good enough for her standards, at least.

"Hey sorry if this place is a little shitty," Ruby apologized. "Told my dad to clean while I'm at school but he never does it."

Weiss wondered why. "Do have a good relationship with your family?" she asked.

Ruby laughed. "Yeah, 'family', the same ones who abandoned me and left me to rot here with this raging asshole of a dad."

Weiss was shocked. She knew Ruby had a rough life, her appearance was a giveaway, but not like this. She actually felt sorry for her.

"That sucks," Weiss began. "My life wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows either. My father barely cared about me, he only cared about what he could gain for his precious company instead of loving his young daughter."

Ruby looked up at her and gave her a look of empathy.

"Go on." she said.

"He would tell me to do things or I... wouldn't get to eat or do what I wanted. He's such a control freak! Every decision in my life was made for me, and not out of love, out of greed." Weiss explained, her voice getting softer.

Ruby was listening to every word, not missing a thing. She wanted to give her a hug and tell her she knows how it feels.

"I'm so sorry, Weiss, that's horrible. I get why you didn't want to go to your place." Ruby expressed.

Ruby then patted next to her to let Weiss know she wanted her to sit next to her. Weiss wiped a tear away and went to sit next to Ruby.

"I'm sorry..." Weiss sat there like a wreck.

Ruby didn't really know what to do. Should she try to comfort her? Something...

 _Think of something! Don't just let her sit and mope! Ugh, who am I kidding? I'm just a-_

She was cut off from her thoughts as Weiss hugged her. Yeah, that's right, _hugged_ her. Ruby patted her back and hugged back. Ruby looked right into her eyes.

"Weiss, you're fine. Your family can't control you forever, you are your own person, not their possession." she said confidently.

Weiss smiled a little bit and felt safety in Ruby's words. She was about to say something, but...

 _ **BAM!**_

The door slammed open and an angry voice shouted at them. Ruby knew exactly who it was.

"What the fuck?! Who is this?!"


	4. chapter 4

Note: Hey guys. I read your reviews on the last chapter and realized that it was a bit rushed, I apologize. So I edited. I hope you find that more to your liking. This will be shorter than usual but I hope you don't mind. Onto the story.

Ruby and Weiss both jumped at the sound of his voice. He wasn't supposed to be home this early, Ruby was scared of what could happen.

"Dad! I didn't think you would be home this early..." Ruby said, trying to sound sweet as possible.

"Pfft, yeah... they released me early. So, who's that? Your little girlfriend?" he asked.

"This is Weiss," Ruby began. "And she's my partner for our project."

Tai rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

He then turned his attention to the photos of Summer on her wall.

"Didn't I tell you to get rid of these? Dammit! Guess I'll have to do it myself..." he started to take each picture off by one.

Ruby's rage was boiling again. "Stop!" she yelled, standing up to get the images.

Tai saw Ruby grabbed his arm and slapped her. Ruby stopped and rubbed her cheek in shock. Weiss was horrified at what was going on right before her.

"Get the fuck out!" Tai yelled at Weiss.

Weiss quickly got her things and left immediately. She gave Ruby a sad look when she left. Ruby was still shocked he did that. He has slapped her before, but he usually apologized after. This time felt different, like he actually wanted to hurt her.

Tai left soon after to go drink in the living room. Ruby closed her door and began to sob. Her cheek was bruised from where he hit her. Reflecting on everything, she stopped crying and began to pack a bag to leave. She couldn't take it anymore. The pictures of Summer were still there on the floor and she picked them up and put them in her bag. She had enough money for a bus trip

She picked up her phone and it said, _3 New Messages from **Weiss**_. She had forgotten she had given Weiss her phone number in case they had to talk about the project. She read the messages.

 _Ruby what's going on? Are you okay?_

 _Ruby, please answer me._

 _Ruby?_

She didn't want to answer. She just got her bag and opened the door to her room slowly to avoid making noise and getting caught. Tai was already asleep in his chair.

 _Figures, he would be out already._ she thought while sneaking to the front door and walking out.

Weiss was getting more worried about Ruby by the second. She just couldn't get the image of Tai slapping Ruby out of her head.

 _What if she's hurt? Should I go back to help?_ Weiss thought to herself. She still decided to wait.

Minutes turned into hours and she still got no reply from Ruby. She figured she probably fell asleep and tried to stop worrying about it.

Weiss's mother came into her room with a bottle of wine in her hand. Classy. Weiss turned to her.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but your father wants to see you." she said.

Weiss started to worry even more. What does he want with her? She was stuck in her thoughts.

"Don't worry, dear. I'm sure it's nothing serious." her mother said, trying to reassure her.

 _Not as serious as your alcoholism..._ Weiss thought.

Weiss put on a fake smile. "Of course. Thank you, mother."

Her mother nodded, swaying drunkenly as she walked away. Weiss frowned, knowing she'll have to talk to that monster of a man. She got up from her bed and walked down to her father's office. She knocked.

"Yes?" his voice sounded angry already.

"It's me, father." Weiss spoke up.

He sighed. "Yes, come in."

Weiss opened the door and walked in. He gestured for her to sit, she did.

"You're probably wondering why I've called you in here," he said. "Well I heard you almost got into a fight. That disappoints me."

"Father I know my actions-" she was cut off by his voice.

"I don't want to hear it. You think getting into fights is helping the family? You're making us look bad! We don't need people thinking we're violent imbeciles!" he gripped the table in anger.

Weiss sat in silence. She's used to his fits of anger by now. She just sits there while he scolds her.

"Just go. I can tell you have other things to attend to and so do I." he goes to sit down and review papers.

Weiss gets up and leaves his office. She was wandering the halls for a while, thinking about what to do before hearing a familar voice.

"Hello, sister."

Weiss looks up with amiration and excitement in her eyes.

"Winter."


	5. update

This is just an update to let you guys know what I'm planning to do and say thanks.

So I read your reviews. I want to say thanks to those giving me advice and encouragement. I know I'm not the perfect writer, but I'm trying to get better. The development and story could be better as well... I'm working on it, bear with me. Again all the reviews are really helping me so I'm glad you guys are helping along the way to become the writer I want to be.

I'll be making it more descriptive and not so boring, so the update times will be longer. I will also be adding more characters so it won't just be around Weiss and Ruby all the time. Excited to continue this and better myself in my writing. See you when the next chapter is up and ready!


	6. update 2

Sorry for not updating at all lately. I've been losing inspiration a lot and some days I feel like what I put down is just total garbage and isn't worth it. I hope you'll keep reading, though. I will try to continue if I can but I don't know how the next few days will go so if I don't update I apologize. See you when I update.


	7. chapter 5

**Note: I know I'm _super, super, super_ late but I really had no idea where to go with this story. Honestly I was close to just giving up but I couldn't. My mind kept nagging at me to get a new chapter of this out, so that's what I did. Enjoy.**

 **Weiss**

Weiss stared in astonishment as her sister stood before her, wondering why she might be here. Business with father? Exiting news? Or merely just a visit? Whatever it was, she was excited to see her again.

"Are you going to stand there and gawk or are you going to say hello?" Winter smiled, glad to see her sister as well.

Weiss ran over and hugged her. "Of course, hello! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at college?"

Winter shook her head. "I have some time off, so I decided to visit. How have you been since I've been away?"

"Well, I can't say things have been ideal..." Weiss rubs her neck. "This girl, Ruby, she's going through a rough time right now. I have tried calling but get no answer."

Winter shows concern on her face, but quickly shrugs it off. "She needs time," Winter places a hand on Weiss's shoulder. "Weiss, she may be in a predicament but it is out of your control. I'm sure you've done all you could."

Weiss eases up a little. "You're right. Thanks Winter."

"You're welcome. How about we get some ice cream like we used to do when we were little?" Winter can't help but smile while she reminisces.

Weiss nods and they head off, chatting about their past and sharing each other's memories.

 **Ruby**

Ruby got off the bus. She didn't care where it dropped her off as long as it was away from home. Feeling risky, she walked into bar, immediately getting stares from the middle-aged men inside. Yang used to tell her of her stories of getting kicked out of bars. She misses that about her... she always knew how to tell a good story. She rolls her eyes at the attention and goes to sit at one of the seats at the bar.

A man sidles up to her, a smirk on his face. "Heya sweetheart, why you out here alone?"

She eyes him suspiciously. "None of your business."

He didn't like this reply, grabbing her arm. "I don't like your attitude. Maybe a drink could help you relax..."

"Let go of me, I'm fine!" Ruby yelled, getting annoyed at his persistance.

The man furrowed his brow. "You should be quiet," his grip on her tightened. "Wouldn't want a pretty thing like you to get hurt, now would we?"

"Keep threatening me and you'll see who's the one lying on the ground first." she narrowed her eyes.

That seemed to push him. "Oh, that's it! C'mere!" he pins Ruby to the wall. She struggles against him but to no avail. He almost pulls her shirt off of her before a voice interrupts him.

"Hey! What the hell is going on here?! Wait..." a scruffy older man said from the entrance.

Ruby recognized him and nearly bursted into tears. The man restraining her let her go and made a run for it. He got knocked out with a glass bottle by another patron and fell to the ground. Ruby ran into the arms of the man she knew as her uncle. Uncle Qrow!

Ruby breaks down into a sob. "U-Uncle Qrow... W-Where have you been?" her face is buried into his chest, soaking his dress shirt.

Qrow has a hard time forming a reply. He certainly wasn't expecting his niece to show up in a bar of all places. He pats her head to calm her.

"Actually kiddo, what are _you_ doing here? Not that it isn't great to see you, but why here?" he says puzzled.

Ruby sniffles, remembering earlier. "I... wanted to get away from home, that's all."

Qrow wasn't quite convinced. "Are you sure that's all?"

"Yes." she answers firmly.

He sighs. "Alright, well I better take you back before Tai gets his rage on."

Ruby's eyes widened and held onto his arm, shaking her head no. "Please no! Anything but that, Uncle Qrow! I can stay with you and we can catch up." she says, pleadingly.

"Ruby," he thinks, looking into her puppy eyes. "Dammit, fine. Your mom always used that trick."

Silence hanged in the air for a moment.

"Mom..." Ruby said softly.

"Sorry, ah... I didn't mean to bring any bad memories up." Qrow rubs the back of his neck.

Ruby hugs him again. "No, I like to talk about her. If we didn't she would come back to kick our butts." she laughed.

Qrow laughed with her. "Yeah, that sounds like Summer alright."

"Uncle Qrow, can I stay with you? Just for tonight?" she asked. "I don't feel up for going back home right now."

"Of course, I get it. You're welcome at my place, kiddo." he smiled.

And with that, he puts and arm around her and guides her out of the bar to ensure her safety. Ruby never thought the scent of alcohol would bring her so much happiness as it did right now.

 **Weiss**

Weiss and Winter sit at a table eating their frozen treats. Weiss got her favorite thing off the menu, which was blueberry frozen yogurt. Winter ordered plain vanilla ice cream. Even though she was having a great time with her sister, Weiss couldn't help but think about Ruby. Winter noticed the look on her face.

"Something or _someone_ on your mind?" Winter asked, knowingly.

"It's nothing. How's your ice cream?" Weiss countered, changing the subject.

"Delightful. Now back to my question. What is on your mind? Do not lie to me, Weiss, you're easier to read than a book at times." Winter placed her hand atop her sister's.

Weiss inhaled deeply. "Okay... I keep thinking about Ruby, it's killing me that I can't reach her."

"Have you tried calling her again?" Winter suggested. "Some time has passed, you know."

Weiss nodded and pulled out her scroll, but hesitates. "I don't want to be a nuisance..."

"Weiss," Winter's cuts in. "If you don't try, then do you really care about her? It'll be eating at you all day if you avoid it"

Weiss sighed. "As always, you're right."

Weiss dialed Ruby's number and after a few rings she gets an answer.

 _"Ruby! Finally I hear from you. Are you okay?"_

 _"I'm fine, Weiss. Better than fine, actually."_

 _"I'm very glad to hear that. Just checking in."_

 _"I appreciate that. Thank you."_

 _"You're welcome. Ah... see you in class?"_

 _"Definitely. Talk to you later, Weiss."_

Weiss hung up, a relieved look washes over her face.

"See? Was that so hard?" Winter says in a mocking tone.

"Shut up..." Weiss says, flustered.


	8. chapter 6

**_A/N: Oh boy. Been a while, hasn't it? Ahhh, I feel so bad for ignoring this story but I really could not find anything in me to write. I tried some days, gave up, but I think I got something so I'm just going to try my best to run with it. Enjoy._**

 **Ruby**

Ruby sat down in a chair in her uncle's apartment. The place was unkempt, but much less than her home is. She looks down at her hands in thought as Qrow sat on his couch.

"So, mind telling me what made you reckless enough to go into a bar unprotected like that?" Qrow inquired.

Ruby sat in silence trying to formulate the words she wanted to say, but had a hard time making it sound like everything is okay. "I told you... I needed some time to myself." Ruby answered.

"Ruby, I'm not stupid. You don't go to a bar to get 'time to yourself', you go there to forget," he sighs, reaching for his flask he keeps in his shirt. "Forget a lot of things, in fact..."

Ruby stood up, slowly making her way towards her uncle. "Why? Why do you feel the need to drink?" anger rises in Ruby's voice, directed at the flask he is holding. "You're acting like dad! All he ever cares about is stupid alcohol and never about me!" she yells, tears welling up in her eyes.

Qrow's eyes widen in surprise at her outburst. "Hey now, let's calm down. I know you're upset at my... problem, and you wanted to escape this but you have to understand that I can't help it," he looks away. "Ever since your mother and sister died, I've never been the same. I always felt like I've been nothing but bad luck, and since that day, that feeling's just gotten stronger." he lamented.

"But how is that your fault? They died in a car crash, you couldn't have known that would happen." Ruby sat down next to him, tone carrying concern.

Qrow stares at his flask, debating whether or not to just down the whole thing. "It doesn't matter if I don't know. I was in that car, Ruby. I was the only survivor. Part of me will always hold that guilt till the day I die," he says somberly. "I should have been the one, not them."

Ruby takes out a picture of Summer from her bag, her voice getting hoarse. "This is the only thing I have of her now. Pictures are the only thing I have of both of them." she wipes away the tears streaking her face.

Qrow takes the picture and looks at it with deep longing, his thumb brushing against the area on her face. "Summer was one of the brightest lights of my life. When I found out that she had died in the hospital, it felt like day had turned into an eternal night. The flame of my heart just ceased to burn," he froze as he realized he just confessed his love about Summer to her daughter. "W-Well she was a really great friend and I really miss her, that's all!" he sputtered out.

"Uncle Qrow... Did you love her?" Ruby wondered.

Qrow sat for moment. "I... I did. I know that sounds wrong of me, but she was one of the only things to bring happiness into my life. Made it worth getting out of bed in the morning. Just seeing her smile was worth everything," he smiled momentarily before fading back into his gloomy expression. "So yes Ruby, I did love her, and I don't regret a single thing about it."

Ruby didn't know how to react to this, how could she? She just found out that her uncle was in love with her mother. Things were getting to be too much for her. She got up and walked towards the door.

"Sum-" Qrow caught himself before he could finish. "I mean... Ruby, where are you going?"

"I just need some air, to think about things, okay?" she answered, not looking back at him.

"Yeah... okay." he sighed, but she was already gone.

 **Weiss**

Weiss sat on her bed reviewing her contributions to the project. It was getting hard to focus with Ruby still heavy on her mind. The call helped but she still needed to see her in person to confirm her suspicions. Winter appeared.

"Sister," she said, moving over to her bed to sit down. "I will be leaving soon so I wanted to check in real quick before I-" she gasped as Weiss hugged her.

"Thank you, Winter..." Weiss says, trying to stifle a sob.

Winter pats her on the back and hugs in return. "Things will be okay, Weiss. You're a strong individual and I'm sure whatever you choose will turn out well for you. Don't let these trials get the best of you. Always move forward, no matter the cost." she smiles, pulling away.

Weiss wiped away her tears, smiling, building her resolve to continue. "Of course. You practically raised me until you went off to college." she grins.

"Well somebody has to _actually_ teach you about life instead of forcing you to go to their dinners and meet business partners," Winter flinches, thinking back. "But you are paving your own path now, and knowing you, you'll make the best out of it. I must go, I should be back to my studies. Farewell, dear sister." she gives Weiss one more hug and departs.

Weiss decides to call Ruby. She picks up.

"Hello?" Ruby's voice soft on the other line.

"Hey Ruby, how is it going?" Weiss asks cheerfully.

Ruby doesn't answer for a minute. "Things are... okay, I guess."

Weiss wasn't so convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Ruby replied simply.

Weiss sighs. "I want to say I'm sorry, Ruby. The things I said yesterday were absolutely awful. I let my ego get to me and I regret it so much." Weiss spills all at once.

"Weiss, honestly this is the least of my worries right now. I know you want to make up for everything but there's nothing you can do right now." Ruby says, her voice growing tired.

It kind of hurt Weiss to hear Ruby say this. "But..." the line went dead as Ruby hung up. Weiss lays down on her bed reflecting on what Winter told her.

 **Ruby**

Ruby sat on the curb outside, wishing she had a cigarette on her right now. On nights like these she would usually sit out with Yang and stare at all the stars in the sky, thinking about their futures, but without her here they all just look duller now.

"Amazing, aren't they?" she pictured Yang saying.

"Yeah... they sure are." Ruby replied to the imaginary Yang, not even bothering to look up at the sky.

"Aw, c'mon sis. What's got you down? Zwei get into the snacks again?" Yang joked, using a tone she would use to try and make Ruby laugh.

But she wasn't laughing. She was far from laughing. Tears came streaming down her face. "Why... why did you leave me, Yang?" she asked, choking on her tears.

"What do you mean? I'm right here with you." Yang answered, confused.

"No you're not. You're not here! You weren't there, like you said you would be!" Ruby yelled out. "You just like to lie to me... Leave!"

Yang was silent. Ruby turned around and she was gone. Ruby clutched her head and continued to sob. Qrow came rushing outside.

"Ruby? What happened?" he asked, alert.

"She was here... Yang was here." Ruby said in a shaky voice, looking around.

Qrow pulled her into a hug. "Ruby, sweetie, that isn't possible. As much as I'd like to believe what you said, she's gone."

Ruby shook her head. "I heard her and she spoke to me!" she said frantically.

"It's nothing but a trick of the mind. I got them sometimes too... She wasn't real." Qrow said, looking off into the distance, still holding Ruby close.


End file.
